Description
Learn methods for calculating attorneys’ fees in class actions and the takeaways from the recent case law.Attorneys’ fees in class actions have increasingly become a stumbling block to both settling large class actions and obtaining court approval of any settlement. The courts are increasingly hostile to clearsail provisions and inflated valuations of injunctive relief to justify high fee awards. This presentation will discuss the various methods for calculating the plaintiffs’ attorneys’ fees in class actions, the takeaways from the recent case law that casts a skeptical eye to many common features of fee agreements, and how this impacts particular types of class actions settlements (such as coupon settlements, claimsmade settlements, and common fund settlements). The presentation will conclude with a prediction on how this will play out in the future, with a special focus on the issue from the perspective of defendants in class actions.
Date: 2022-02-02 Start Time: End Time:
Learning Objectives
Calculating Attorneys Fees in Class Actions
• Fed. R. Civ. P. 23: Courts Have a Duty to Make Sure That Settlement Agreements Are Fair and Reasonable, Including the Amount of Attorneys Fees
• Methods of Calculating Attorneys Fees
• Lodestar
• Percentage of Recovery Method
Common Issues With Settlements and Attorneys Fees
• Bluetooth Warning Signs
• Class Counsel Receives Disproportionate Amount From the Settlement
• Clear-Sailing Provision: Defendant Agrees Not to Challenge the Fee Amount for Class Counsel
• Valuing Injunctive Relief
• Courts Have Struck Down Settlement Agreements With Injunctive Relief That Provides Little to No Benefit for the Class
• Case Law Suggests That Appellate Courts Closely Examine Injunctive Relief and How Much Value It Provides to Class Members
• Lodestar
• Not Always a Reasonable Way to Calculate Attorneys Fees
• Coupons and Attorneys Fees
• Coupons: Instead of Paying out Cash to Class Members as Part of the Settlement Agreement, the Defendant Provides a Coupon That Class Members Can Use Towards Buying Defendants Products, Services
• The Ninth Circuit Applies a Multi-Factor Test to Determine Whether a Settlement Agreement Is a Coupon Settlement, See in Re Easysaver Rewards Litig., 906 F.3d 747, 755 (9th Cir. 2018)
• Under CAFA, Calculating the Size of the Settlement Fund (and in Turn, the Fee Award) Must Account for the Redemption Rate of the Coupons, See in Re Easysaver Rewards Litig., 906 F.3d 747, 758 (9th Cir. 2018)
• In the Ninth Circuit, Courts Must Use the Percentage-Of-Value Method When Analyzing Coupons and Attorneys Fees, See Chambers v. Whirlpool Corp., 980 F.3d 645, 660 (9th Cir. 2020)
• Claims-Based Settlements and Attorneys Fees
Looking Ahead
• Will Parties Start Litigating Attorneys Fees More Frequently?
• Will Courts Start Insisting Fees Be Tied to the Actual Claims Made?
CLE (Please check the Detailed Credit Information page for states that have already been approved) ,Additional credit may be available upon request. Contact Lorman at 866-352-9540 for further information.
Timothy W. Loose-Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Jeremy S. Smith – Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
